These gooey double chocolate oatmeal cookies have everything of a traditional oatmeal cookie, but they could totally be called the "free cookies". They are gluten-free, vegan (which means dairy-free and egg-free), nut-free (if you choose the sun butter or tahini butter), almost refined sugar free (except for the sugar in the chips...) but they are certainly not tasteless! If you do the version with the dates instead of the coconut sugar (see the note in the recipe below), you could even eat them for breakfast!

These soft but still slightly crunchy double chocolate cookies are the most decadent oatmeal cookies I've had for a long time! I'm definitely going to bake these guys again... with or without the ice cream in between (see my decadent mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwich)!

OUBLE CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES (VEGAN, GLUTEN-FREE)

Slightly adapted from Oh she glows

Yield : 18-20 cookies

Ingredients :

1 flax egg : 1 tablespoon flax + 3 tablespoons water (or one organic free-range egg)
1/4 cup organic virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup sunflower seed butter or tahini (or almond butter or peanut butter if you're not looking for a nut-free recipe)
3/4 cup coconut sugar (or 10 pitted dates for a sugar-free version) - see note
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon aluminium-free baking powder
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1,5 cups rolled oats processed into a flour (or 1.5 cups oat flour)
2-3 tablespoons almond milk (optional)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (at least 70%)

Preheat your oven at 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the flax and water and set aside for 5 minutes.
Add the flax egg with the rest of the wet ingredients ; vanilla, sugar, coconut oil, nut butter and mix until well combined.
In a food processor, blend your oats into a flour.
Add the oat flour into the bowl as well as the rest of the ingredients and mix to combine. If the mixture is too dry, add more almond milk until you can easily shape "golf size balls".
Place on your prepared baking sheet 2-3 inches apart and press with your fingers.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Take out of the oven and let cool (they tend to brake easily so you really want to wait before touching them). Transfer onto a cooling rack.
For ice cream sandwiches : Thaw your ice cream on the counter for a few minutes so you can easily spread it between two cookies. Make sure your cookies are completely cooled before adding your ice cream. Serve immediately or store in the freezer for thicker ice cream sandwiches.

Note : I often substitute the coconut sugar with pitted dates. Actually, this is my favorite version ; the cookies are soft and chewy ("brownie-ish") and incredibly healthy! If you do so, add the pitted dates with the other wet ingredients listed in step 3 in a high speed blender until you have a smooth paste. Transfer this paste into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to combine. You may need to add extra liquid if the dough is too dry. I find that 3 tablespoons of almond milk is just fine. I cook this sugar-free version for 10 minutes at 350F.